3 Benefits of Reducing Sugar You Might Not Have Known About

We all know by now that excessive sugar consumption is linked to increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, all serious conditions that can dramatically decrease length and quality of life. But even for healthy people, sugar consumption can cause long-term harm in ways that might not be as obvious. When combined together over time, sugar’s impacts on the body can lead to long term damage and even chronic health conditions. Here are 3 less talked about ways that sugar affects your body that you might not be aware of.

Sugar ages your skin

Did you know that digested sugar molecules permanently damage collagen? Through a process called glycation, sugar bonds to the skin’s collagen, causing the cells to become brittle rather than springy and elastic. The ‘advanced glycation end products’ caused by glucose consumption are appropriately called AGEs, and impair your skin’s resistance to stress, wound healing, and dermal vasculature.

Sugar makes you hungrier

Studies have linked sugar consumption to a vicious cycle of increased appetite and decreased hunger control. High sugar intake increases ghrelin serum levels to such an extent that over time, activity in the brain’s satiety centers are reduced. This leads to both a spike in hunger hormones and a decrease in central appetite control. While this sounds like a vicious cycle of hormone disruption, it can be easily stopped simply by decreasing sugar!

Sugar is tied to memory loss

Long term studies have consistently shown the negative effect that sugar has on neurophysiological health. Memory and executive functioning has been shown to decline as blood glucose levels increase, even when controlling for other variables like age, sex, BMI, education, depression, cardiovascular disease, and alcohol consumption. Not only will you see physical benefits when reducing your sugar intake, but you’ll notice mental and cognitive benefits too.

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We are not medical doctors and cannot give medical advice. As always, we suggest consulting your doctor if you have any questions regarding your stevia consumption and any affects it may have on any pre-existing conditions.